Periodic Reporting for period 1 - FAIRWORK (FAIRWORK: Building a Fairwork Foundation)
Reporting period: 2019-11-01 to 2021-10-31
Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project
The PoC of the project proposed to create the Fairwork Foundation, an organisation which would: (1) develop a system of transparent standards of fair work on digital labour platforms; (2) assess and certify working conditions on platforms, using the standards as a benchmark. The overall results of the project have been highly satisfactory. We have largely followed the original project goals and research questions as well as worked towards the output targets identified in the Grant Document.
As regards goal (1), we have successfully set up the Fairwork Foundation (website: https://fair.work/en/fw/homepage/(opens in new window)) which has developed a system of standard of fair work on digital labour platforms. The standards, named Fairwork principles, address the key dimensions that would make a platform work fair, namely: fair pay; fair conditions; fair contracts; fair management; and fair representation. Platforms are evaluated against those principles by being given a point if there is enough evidence that a platform meets a certain standard. For each of the five principles, a basic threshold and a more advanced threshold of fairness are established, meaning that platforms are evaluated out of a total of ten standards.
In order to evaluate the working conditions offered by each platform, a tripartite methodology is applied. First, desk research is used to gather any publicly available information about a platform, including terms and conditions, digital interfaces, the provision of specific services and any public statement in relation to their working model. Second, interviews with platform managers are used to collect evidence for each of the principles and to gather information about internal operations and the platform’s working model. Third, interviews are held with workers for platforms that will be ranked. We interview six to ten workers per platform to gather evidence on how platforms’ policies and practices operate in practice and how they impact workers. Interviewees are selected through purposive sampling, so they are not meant to be representative but, rather, are chosen in order to understand how a platform’s working model unfolds from a worker’s point of view. This three-fold methodology enables us to cross-check platforms’ claims and, at the same time, it allows us to collect evidence from multiple data sources. Scores are then decided collectively by the Fairwork team and rigorously peer-reviewed.
As regards goal (2), we have assessed and certified working conditions using the standards mentioned above on 9 platforms operating in Berlin, Germany, and 11 platforms operating in London, United Kingdom. The platforms are among the largest and most influential platforms active in the 2 countries, overall having several hundreds of thousands workers. They are active in a broad range of sectors, including courier, logistics, food delivery, transport and domestic work. The results were published in two reports in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
In Germany, we have successfully completed data collection and analysis and published a report in 2020. The report was well received by the public audience, being disseminated by over 44 press outlets (including, Berliner Zeitung, NetzPolitik, Taxi Times, ZDF) and by a number of radio channels. The report was also publicly endorsed by a Berlin's Senator for Integration, Labour and Social Affairs. Thanks to engagement with the project, two platforms, Zenjob and Instaff, have also implemented positive changes to their work policies, including the introduction of anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies, whilst one platform, Zenjob, has amended its General Agreement with workers to formally indicate its willingness to encourage workers to form a collective body and engage in negotiations with it. Zenjob also began to use their business data to develop their own localised anti-discrimination strategy.
In the UK, we have successfully completed data collection and analysis and published and a report was published in 2021. The report was also well received by the public audience, being disseminated by 23 press outlets (including, EuroNews, Reuters, Tribune Magazine, The Independent, Dissent Magazine). Evidence from the report was also presented in an evidence session at the House of Lords as well to the Labour Markets group within the UK's BEIS. Following the report, we were also asked to present our findings at the Greater London Authority. Thanks to engagement with the project, one platform in the UK, Pedal Me, has agreed to add an equality and diversity policy to its on-boarding process for all new staff. The platform has also introduced measures to improve collective worker representation, including a clear definition of theworker representative’s role, and a commitment to negotiate with a union, should one be established.
Following the launch of the two reports, a number of academic publications have been produced. An article on Germany was published in the journal Wissenschaftliche Beiträge with the title ‘Towards decent work in the digital age: introducing the fairwork project in Germany’. A comparative chapter based on research in Germany, UK and India has been accepted for publication in December 2021 to be as part of the edited volume ‘Platformization and Informality: Pathways of Change, Alteration, and Transformation’ (published by Palgrave Macmillan). Two academic articles, one on Germany and one on the UK, will be published as part of the Digital Geography and Society Special Issue on Fairwork. Other publications are currently underway. One non-academic article focused on the UK has been published as part of the Trade Union Congress’s publication called ‘Seven ways platform workers are fighting back’.
Findings from the report have also been presented in a number of workshops and conferences, including the Berlin's Senate Department for Integration, Labour and Social Services’ Conference on ‘Platform Economy - Decent Work in Times of Digital Transformation’, the German Sociological Association Conference, an Expert Workshop on Care Gig Work organised by the by the Berlin Senate Department for Labour, Social Affairs and Integration, the Social Policy Association Conference, and the ESPANet Conference.
To increase the impact of the project, two billboard campaigns were organised in Berlin and London, as well as a mobile photography campaign in London.
Finally, the research has also been able to attract funding to support further research in both countries, thanks to a grant for the Berlin University Alliance (Germany) and the John Fell Fund (UK).
As regards goal (1), we have successfully set up the Fairwork Foundation (website: https://fair.work/en/fw/homepage/(opens in new window)) which has developed a system of standard of fair work on digital labour platforms. The standards, named Fairwork principles, address the key dimensions that would make a platform work fair, namely: fair pay; fair conditions; fair contracts; fair management; and fair representation. Platforms are evaluated against those principles by being given a point if there is enough evidence that a platform meets a certain standard. For each of the five principles, a basic threshold and a more advanced threshold of fairness are established, meaning that platforms are evaluated out of a total of ten standards.
In order to evaluate the working conditions offered by each platform, a tripartite methodology is applied. First, desk research is used to gather any publicly available information about a platform, including terms and conditions, digital interfaces, the provision of specific services and any public statement in relation to their working model. Second, interviews with platform managers are used to collect evidence for each of the principles and to gather information about internal operations and the platform’s working model. Third, interviews are held with workers for platforms that will be ranked. We interview six to ten workers per platform to gather evidence on how platforms’ policies and practices operate in practice and how they impact workers. Interviewees are selected through purposive sampling, so they are not meant to be representative but, rather, are chosen in order to understand how a platform’s working model unfolds from a worker’s point of view. This three-fold methodology enables us to cross-check platforms’ claims and, at the same time, it allows us to collect evidence from multiple data sources. Scores are then decided collectively by the Fairwork team and rigorously peer-reviewed.
As regards goal (2), we have assessed and certified working conditions using the standards mentioned above on 9 platforms operating in Berlin, Germany, and 11 platforms operating in London, United Kingdom. The platforms are among the largest and most influential platforms active in the 2 countries, overall having several hundreds of thousands workers. They are active in a broad range of sectors, including courier, logistics, food delivery, transport and domestic work. The results were published in two reports in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
In Germany, we have successfully completed data collection and analysis and published a report in 2020. The report was well received by the public audience, being disseminated by over 44 press outlets (including, Berliner Zeitung, NetzPolitik, Taxi Times, ZDF) and by a number of radio channels. The report was also publicly endorsed by a Berlin's Senator for Integration, Labour and Social Affairs. Thanks to engagement with the project, two platforms, Zenjob and Instaff, have also implemented positive changes to their work policies, including the introduction of anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies, whilst one platform, Zenjob, has amended its General Agreement with workers to formally indicate its willingness to encourage workers to form a collective body and engage in negotiations with it. Zenjob also began to use their business data to develop their own localised anti-discrimination strategy.
In the UK, we have successfully completed data collection and analysis and published and a report was published in 2021. The report was also well received by the public audience, being disseminated by 23 press outlets (including, EuroNews, Reuters, Tribune Magazine, The Independent, Dissent Magazine). Evidence from the report was also presented in an evidence session at the House of Lords as well to the Labour Markets group within the UK's BEIS. Following the report, we were also asked to present our findings at the Greater London Authority. Thanks to engagement with the project, one platform in the UK, Pedal Me, has agreed to add an equality and diversity policy to its on-boarding process for all new staff. The platform has also introduced measures to improve collective worker representation, including a clear definition of theworker representative’s role, and a commitment to negotiate with a union, should one be established.
Following the launch of the two reports, a number of academic publications have been produced. An article on Germany was published in the journal Wissenschaftliche Beiträge with the title ‘Towards decent work in the digital age: introducing the fairwork project in Germany’. A comparative chapter based on research in Germany, UK and India has been accepted for publication in December 2021 to be as part of the edited volume ‘Platformization and Informality: Pathways of Change, Alteration, and Transformation’ (published by Palgrave Macmillan). Two academic articles, one on Germany and one on the UK, will be published as part of the Digital Geography and Society Special Issue on Fairwork. Other publications are currently underway. One non-academic article focused on the UK has been published as part of the Trade Union Congress’s publication called ‘Seven ways platform workers are fighting back’.
Findings from the report have also been presented in a number of workshops and conferences, including the Berlin's Senate Department for Integration, Labour and Social Services’ Conference on ‘Platform Economy - Decent Work in Times of Digital Transformation’, the German Sociological Association Conference, an Expert Workshop on Care Gig Work organised by the by the Berlin Senate Department for Labour, Social Affairs and Integration, the Social Policy Association Conference, and the ESPANet Conference.
To increase the impact of the project, two billboard campaigns were organised in Berlin and London, as well as a mobile photography campaign in London.
Finally, the research has also been able to attract funding to support further research in both countries, thanks to a grant for the Berlin University Alliance (Germany) and the John Fell Fund (UK).